


dream a little dream of me

by afire



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: EFA Fic Challenge 2018, F/F, Jazz AU, jazz singer!waverly, piano player!nicole, this was basically an excuse for me to write about jazz bc im a music nerd, you don't have to know about music to understand this but it will help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 03:08:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14632827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/afire
Summary: During their regular late afternoon soundcheck, Waverly notices that Nicole is a lot more distracted than usual.(or: wynonna owns a jazz café, it's not as bad as it sounds)





	dream a little dream of me

During their regular late afternoon soundcheck, Waverly notices that Nicole is a lot more distracted than usual. Granted, she's never a hundred percent focused, always going off on little journeys through the key before coming back to the groove that she's supposed to be playing, but it always works, because she's a genius. Today, though, she isn't even staying in the right time signature. They have to stop and start three times because without the harmonic support that the piano provides, none of them can keep up.

"Dude, you okay?" Jeremy lowers his trumpet, fiddling with the valves as he stares at Nicole. "We usually get through the whole set by now."

"Yeah, sorry." Nicole absentmindedly plays her way through a Blues scale, moving through a few funky rhythms before letting the room fall silent. "Sorry," she says again, "I'm just a little distracted today."

"Let's just go through the last piece, I'm sure everything's working fine," Dolls says, leaning down to pick up his bow. Waverly spares a moment to think that if anyone else played the double bass, it'd look too big for them, but in front of Dolls, it practically looks like a cello.

She's about to voice this thought, but realizes that Nicole has just been sitting in silence and staring down at the keys, mumbling something unintelligible under her breath. Waverly reaches to turn her mic away from her so that when she speaks, her voice doesn't echo through the room. "Is everything okay?"

Nicole nods, but it's clear she hasn't really heard the question. "Yeah, totally, all good. Let's just play through the last piece? From the beginning." She twists in her seat so she can look at Doc, who's using his sticks to quietly tap out rhythms on his thighs. "Count us in?"

Doc glances at Waverly, who shrugs and moves back to the mic, figuring that Nicole will talk about it if she wants to, and not before then. "Let's go," she breathes, turning back around to face the empty room.

"One, two, one, two, three, four-"

 

*****

 

On her way back from the bathroom after soundcheck, Waverly finds Wynonna and Nicole huddled together in the tiny hallway that leads to the office, having what looks to be an intense whispered conversation.

"Hey! What's going on?"

They both shut up instantly, turning to stare at her.

"Nothing."

"Budget."

They both speak at the same time, over each other, and Waverly narrows her eyes, not believing either one of them for a second. She crosses her arms, ready to fight for the answer if she has to, but Wynonna steps forward, gently grabbing her shoulders and guiding her into the office.

"I need some help with the Excel sheet," she says, by way of explanation when Waverly glares at her in confusion. "You know I can never figure out how to use the formulas."

"I've taught you a million times, Wynonna."

"Just once more?"

Waverly remains silent, huffing out an exasperated breath.

"Please?"

She sighs, rolling her eyes. "Fine, but this is it, if you can't figure it out next time, just Google it."

"Google is for people who give up," Wynonna intones, completely ignoring the fact that she clearly just did. "Hey, Haughtstuff, why don't you go practice on the piano some more?"

Nicole startles, then frowns, glancing up. "I don't need to-"

"The room will be empty, you can work on your sound, or something." Wynonna blinks as if she's trying to send a message, even though it just looks like she's got something caught in her eye.

"Oh! Yeah, of course, I should, uh, overtones. Thanks, Wynonna."

She turns to walk away and Waverly watches her go, wincing when she stumbles into a chair.

"What are you guys-"

"No time for that! You gotta teach me how to Microsoft!"

Waverly sighs and allows herself to be dragged into the office. "This is the last time, Wynonna," she warns again, sitting down behind the desk.

"Cross my heart." Wynonna drags another chair over to sit next to her. "Now, what's this square mean?"

 

*****

 

By the time Waverly's got all the formulas properly keyed in, essentially finishing their budget for the past six months, it's almost time for them to open.

As a jazz café, Purgatory doesn't open until six in the evening, closing at eleven. Waverly thinks Wynonna picked jazz just so she doesn't have to wake up until noon, and even then can still toddle around for a couple more hours before any actual work has to be done.

Usually, they just have the band up there to provide atmosphere. Nicole, Doc and Dolls build a groove and Jeremy plays the melody once through before they take turns soloing, and that's enough to get them through the night. Sometimes, when Wynonna wants to spice things up a little, or more likely when she gets bored of watching Nicole show off, they do a vocal set instead. This means that Waverly has to learn a couple songs and get on stage.

She doesn't really mind it, mostly because it gives her a break from all the reading she has to do for the PHD she's currently working toward. It's tedious work, and oftentimes monotonous, but she loves it all the same.

Waverly bumps into Jeremy as he's coming out of the green room, and she takes a step backward, apologising.

"Don't worry about it," he says cheerily, swinging his trumpet around in a dangerous arc, almost clipping the edge of the doorway they're standing in. "Excited for tonight?"

"Oh, totally."

They're doing an Ella Fitzgerald feature for tonight's show, and Waverly, who has always been a big fan of her music, is really looking forward to singing all the songs they've picked out.

"Have you guys tuned up?"

"Yup, just did." Jeremy nods toward the small stairway that leads to the stage, and when Waverly looks she sees that Dolls and Doc are already busy setting up, but Nicole is nowhere to be found. She frowns, glancing back at Jeremy.

"Shouldn't Nicole be up there, too?"

"Oh, yeah, she was there a second ago, I think she went looking for a pencil."

Waverly opens her mouth to ask why, exactly, Nicole needs a pencil, seeing as she never plays with sheet music, but another voice interrupts her before she can.

"Jeremy! It is colder than the Arctic up here an' Dolls wants to retune." Doc appears at the top of the stairs, and upon spotting Waverly he tips his hat (the one that he insists on wearing indoors) politely. "Ah, hello Waverly, all set for tonight?"

"Yup, a hundred percent. I'm just going to go see if I can find Nicole."

"If it helps, she was headed toward the office, mentioned somethin' about findin' a pencil.

Waverly nods, smiling gratefully at him. "Thanks Doc, I'll see you later!"

 

*****

 

Nicole is seated at the desk, scribbling at a piece of manuscript, when Waverly walks in. She doesn't even look up, just pauses to tap her pencil against the tabletop before frantically crossing something out.

Waverly rounds the table, trying to see what she's writing. "What are you doing?"

"Waves!" Nicole jumps, startled, and immediately tries to cover the piece of paper with her arms. "Hey, um, nothing much, just music stuff."

"Yeah, what is it?" Waverly stands on her tiptoes, attempting to peer over Nicole's hunched shoulders. "Is it for tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Y'know, the show? We're playing Ella songs."

"Oh, right! Yes, of course, tonight. Uh, no, it's not, I'm all good for tonight."

Waverly frowns then, and hesitates a moment, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she sits against the edge of the desk, twisting her head around in an attempt to read what she can. "Then what is it?"

"It's uh, it's nothing, just something I'm working on, for my own stuff."

"Ooh, did you get another call?"

Even with her fulltime job at the café, Nicole still freelances elsewhere, especially on Sundays when they're closed and everything else is open. Waverly had helped her upload a couple of videos onto a website for musicians, and every so often she gets an offer to play for a wedding, or an art show.

"Nah, it's not for an outside gig, it's … for myself, I guess?" Nicole stands, folding the paper up quickly and tucking it into her back pocket. "Anyway! We should be getting out there, doors are opening soon." She stretches, as much as she can with the dress shirt she's wearing, and stoops to pick her blazer up off the back of the chair. "Come on," Nicole reaches out, "time to put on a show."

Waverly sighs, but as always, she takes Nicole's hand and allows herself to be tugged gently out of the office and herded toward the stage.

She can ask about the mystery scribbling later.

 

*****

 

It's a Friday night, so the café fills up a lot more than usual, since it's the end of the working week and everyone wants a drink. Saturdays are usually their busiest, with the café being closed on Sundays and Mondays, but Waverly thinks this is going to be their most successful night of the week.

They don't usually start with the set right away, Wynonna likes it when it's just instrumental comping for a while before the main show, so for now, Waverly is just hanging around backstage, thumbing through a stack of sheet music for next week's special whilst listening to Jeremy take a solo on top of Nicole, Doc and Dolls' easy groove.

"Hey, babygirl." Wynonna appears backstage, jerking her head toward the curtains. "They're gonna wrap this up soon, and then it's all you, okay?"

Waverly slides the music back into the folder, letting it fall onto the little wooden table they keep back here. "You're announcing the set right?"

"You bet I am." Wynonna winks, grinning so wide that Waverly can see the flash of teeth in the dim light. "I'm going to hype you up so hard."

"Wynonna don't— and she's gone." Waverly sighs, rolling her eyes even though she's smiling. Her sister can be loud, and rude, and sometimes unnecessarily violent, but Wynonna is, and always will be, her biggest fan, and for that Waverly is immeasurably grateful.

"Hey folks! Welcome to Purgatory." Wynonna's voice rings from the other side of the curtains. While her sister pauses for polite applause from the audience, Waverly busies herself with standing up straight, dusting down her dress and making sure that everything is in place.

"We've got a super exciting set lined up for you tonight. As you might already know, today is all about the Queen of Jazz herself, Ella Fitzgerald." Another pause for more applause. "But before that, let me introduce the band."

If Waverly closes her eyes, she can picture Wynonna stepping aside, sweeping her arm up in a big arcing motion, pointing at each person as she says their name and waiting politely for the clapping to die down before she moves on to the next.

"We've got Jeremy Chetri on trumpet, Xavier Dolls on bass, John Henry, or as you know him, Doc, on drums, and last but not least, Nicole Haught on piano."

The applause is louder this time, and someone actually whistles. Waverly giggles quietly to herself, imagining the crowded, dimly lit room and Wynonna prancing around on stage.

"Joining them tonight to sing the most illustrious of Ella's tunes, my very own sister, the one and only, Waverly Earp."

The band kicks back into a groove while Waverly walks onstage, and she manages to lock eyes with Nicole for a split second, smiling at her encouraging nod before taking her place at the mic.

Wynonna gives her a thumbs up and fingerguns before slipping down the stairs and back into the wings, and when Waverly turns back toward the crowd, everyone is hushed, waiting for her to speak.

She's sung at Purgatory plenty of times before, but never to a crowd this big. Waverly takes a deep breath, glancing around for half a second before squaring her shoulders. She's rehearsed for this countless times, and knows Ella's songs like the back of her hand; Waverly can do this, she knows she can.

"Hey everyone, are we ready for some Ella Fitzgerald?"

The crowd whoops and Waverly smiles.

 

*****

 

Their closing song is 'My Funny Valentine', a nice, warm ballad to wrap things up. Waverly flows through the chorus, letting her voice float on top of the gorgeous, high-register chords that Nicole builds for her. Dolls takes a solo in this one, sixteen bars where it's just him and Nicole, and the crowd watches in mesmerized silence.

Waverly can't blame them, she's never been able to look away when Nicole is playing, especially if the spotlight is both literally and figuratively on her.

She remembers the day they met, a couple years ago when Purgatory had still been new on the scene, and they'd only gotten a dozen or so people each night. Wynonna had told her that they were auditioning a new piano player, but she had to go into the city to pick up a new set of mics, so Waverly had been in charge of deciding if they were good enough.

It had made her proud, the fact that Wynonna had trusted her opinion enough to let her decide.

Dolls and Doc had been there too, just so they could play a song together, sort of like a chemistry read but with music. They hadn't found Jeremy yet, back then, he's their newest addition to the group, arriving a couple months after Nicole had.

Regardless, Waverly had waited patiently by the door, watching as the clock ticked closer and closer to half past one. It had rained all day, and she remembers being worried that whoever the new piano player was would have trouble finding the café.

Almost immediately after, though, the door had swung open and Nicole had stumbled in, drenched from head to toe and dripping water onto the carpet. She'd grimaced, apologised, and asked for a towel, which Doc very kindly provided her with.

Waverly remembers having had half the mind to send her home to rest and reschedule, but Nicole had been adamant about being fine, and asked what it was they needed her to play.

As per Wynonna's instructions, Waverly had said that she needed to play one piece on her own, and one with the band, and she had freedom of choice with both those pieces.

Nicole had smiled at her (Waverly remembers going a little slack in the jaw at that, even then) and asked if she could use the baby grand that had been standing on the stage. When Waverly said yes, of course, she'd proceeded to sit down, towel still wrapped around her shoulders, and play the most beautiful rendition of 'Isn't She Lovely' that Waverly had ever heard.

After that, Nicole had kindly asked if Doc and Dolls knew how 'Autumn Leaves' went. They did, and off she went again, fingers flying over ivory keys as if the music was nothing but an extension of herself.

By the end of the piece, Doc and Dolls were both smiling, and Waverly had almost tripped over herself in her haste to tell Nicole that she'd been hired, and would it be okay for her to start tonight?

Nicole had said yes, and it'd all fallen into place from there.

Tonight is no different, Waverly sings the last chorus and Dolls walks the bassline back to the tonic before both Jeremy and Nicole join him on the last chord, and Doc rolls the ride cymbal with soft mallets, letting the sound ring out into the room.

The overtones are drowned out by clapping, and Waverly knows she's definitely going to hear about that from Nicole. She takes a bow, careful not to hit the mic, before descending the stairs to meet Wynonna, who envelopes her in a hug.

"That was so great, babygirl. I'm so proud of you!"

Waverly lets herself soak in the warmth of her sister's embrace for a couple seconds before taking a step back. "Thanks, I-"

Before she can finish her sentence, her voice is drowned out by someone speaking into the mic, and it takes her a moment to realize that it's Nicole, who's no longer sitting behind the piano.

"Uh, hey everyone. We hope you enjoyed our Ella Fitzgerald feature."

The crowd whoops again, causing Nicole to pause, and Waverly knows she's just done the thing she always does when she's embarrassed, where she looks at the ground before glancing up to keep talking.

"The night's almost over, but not yet. Purgatory, we’ve got one more song for you."

Waverly frowns, then panics.

"What? Did I forget a song? Oh no-"

"No! No, no, it's fine, Waves, you didn't forget. This one's just the band."

"What do you mean this one's just the band? Who's gonna sing?"

Wynonna smiles, all crooked and mysterious. "You'll see," she says, before darting away, out into the crowd where Waverly can't follow lest she wants to seem unprofessional. She's left to stand behind the curtain, where she can hear Nicole, but can't see her.

"This is a never-before-heard Purgatory original," Nicole is saying, "and we're going to debut it for you right now."

The crowd goes absolutely berserk at that, and Waverly almost trips over her own feet even though she's standing perfectly still. She suddenly remembers Nicole's recent absentmindedness, the manuscript she'd been scribbling on in the office, how she'd spent more time at the piano and less time bothering Wynonna, and it all clicks into place.

Nicole had written a song.

"This one's called 'Rain' and we hope you enjoy it."

She can hear Doc count them in, quietly, and then-

"Oh, my god," Waverly whispers to herself, because not only is Nicole playing, but she's singing. There must've been a mic placed next to the piano, because her voice is resonating through the room, sweet and clear.

She gets so caught up in the music that she doesn't really pay attention to the lyrics until the very end, when Dolls, Doc, and Jeremy all drop out, leaving Nicole, her chords, and her voice.

_"And I love the way you said my name, when we met that day in the pouring rain."_

The last bar gets lost in thunderous applause, chairs scraping back as the crowd slide into a standing ovation. Nicole's voice cuts through all the noise, and even from back here, Waverly can hear the happy tone that underlies her words.

"Thank you so much, Purgatory! Good night!"

In a bit of a delayed reaction, Waverly takes a step to the side just in time as Dolls comes through the curtain carrying his double bass, no doubt to put it back into its case. He smiles at her as he walks past, followed by Jeremy, who gives her two thumbs up, and then Doc, who tips his hat politely, tucking his sticks into his back pocket.

It takes a while for Nicole to show up, but when she finally emerges from the curtains, Waverly pulls her aside, down the little hallway and into the office, closing the door behind them.

"You didn't tell me you were writing a song."

Nicole smiles sheepishly, gaze dropping to the floor. "I, uh, wanted it to be a surprise?"

"A surprise?"

"Yeah, 'cause, y'know." Nicole makes a vague gesture in mid-air, frowning when Waverly seems just as confused as ever. "Really?"

"Really … what?"

"The song," Nicole says quietly, "it's uh, well. I kind of, wrote it for you?"

Waverly's heart jumps into her throat. "For me?"

"Yeah, I thought it was obvious." Nicole cants her head to the side and, even as she's preoccupied with so many other things, Waverly can't help but think that it's adorable. "The lyrics?"

The lyrics, right. Waverly casts her mind back, going through what she can remember, and she realizes Nicole had basically been singing about the day they met. "But," she says slowly, "it's a ballad." Waverly blinks, trying to process this new information. "It's a love song."

Nicole nods, gaze still trained on the ground. "Yes, it is."

It takes a while for Waverly to recalibrate, but her brain manages to catch up in the end. "How are we going to get past Wynonna?"

"What?"

"I mean, you're asking me out, right?"

"Yes?" Nicole frowns at her own hesitance. "I mean, yes, I am. What does that have to do with Wynonna?"

"I assume she'll make a big deal out of giving you the 'shovel talk' or whatever it is they call it these days."

"Oh! That's uh, not gonna happen, I think? I sort of, uh, already asked her? Not for permission," Nicole rushes to correct herself, "more like, her blessing? The 'writing a song' thing was her idea, actually. She said soloing is basically composing on the spot, anyway, and she thought you'd like it."

Waverly stares for a moment, then reaches to twine her arms around Nicole's neck and pull her down for a kiss.

They end up backed against the desk, with Waverly sitting on the edge of it, and Nicole is pressing kisses down her jaw when someone bangs loudly on the door and they jump apart.

"Oi! Lovebirds! Café's closed and I'm not about to clean up on my own!"

Waverly sighs and Nicole huffs out a laugh, straightening out her jacket.

"I guess that's her way of saying she approves?"

"I'd rather she do it much quieter," Waverly says, pulling at her dress in an attempt to smooth out the wrinkles. "Maybe you should write a song about how she should shut up."

"Who's to say I haven't already done that?"

Waverly smiles, going up onto her tiptoes for a quick kiss before turning toward the door. "Come on, before she breaks something."

Nicole follows dutifully, shutting the office door behind them.

Wynonna doesn't stop teasing them the entire time they're cleaning up, and by the end of it, Waverly is ready to throw a chair at her.

Nicole, on the other hand, lets everything slide, presumably because she knew this was going to happen and had already resigned herself to it.

"I'm going to kill her," Waverly says, once Wynonna vanishes into the back to lock up the office and the green room.

"No, you're not," Nicole counters, though she's smiling. "Besides, we're just gonna have to get used to it."

Waverly huffs, visibly upset, and Nicole leans down to kiss the top of her head.

"She'll probably get bored of it eventually."

Wynonna choose this moment to step back into the room, meandering over to wrap her arms around the both of them. "I'm taking full credit for this, by the way, if I hadn't told Haughtstuff here to write the song, she'd never have gone for it."

Waverly opens her mouth to argue, but Nicole prods her gently in the ribs, shaking her head as if to say it isn't worth it. "I'll pick you up for breakfast in the morning?" She asks, and Waverly brightens.

"Yes, please!"

"I'll text you," Nicole says, untangling herself from Wynonna's arms. "But it'll probably be more brunch than breakfast."

Wynonna snorts, but they both ignore her, so she throws her hands up and heads toward the door, saying something about going to get the car.

Waverly goes to wrap her arms around Nicole's neck again, pulling her down for a goodnight kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Nicole smiles, all dimples and adorable sleepiness. "You can count on it."

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written for these characters before, forgive me if I've gotten any characterizations drastically wrong. 
> 
> Anyway! I stumbled upon this challenge by accident and wanted an excuse to write about jazz, so here's hoping that I haven't missed the mark entirely on the prompt. Everything musical you see in here stems directly from my own knowledge; I've been playing piano for fifteen years (and dabble in guitar and drums as well) and I do have a Big Band that I play with in school, so there's that!
> 
> Both 'Rain' and the lyrics I quote aren't real, I just made them up for the fic.
> 
> Just something that I need to say, you might not think that the crowd at a classy jazz café would get too loud, but oh boy let me tell you I have been on jazz camp and we can bring the roof down, you have no idea how loud we can get, jazz kids are crazy and I love it.
> 
> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://taylorswift.co.vu) or [Twitter](http://twitter.com/astralsapphics) if you wanna talk, where I will gladly recommend you more jazz tunes to listen to should you be interested. Until next time, I'll catch ya' on the flipside!


End file.
